Full Article: UW welcomes record-breaking freshman class as students return to campus

Written By: Lee Stoll

SEATTLE — A pair of weekend events welcomed students back to the University of Washington in a big way, and with big crowds.

A Husky football home game — and resounding victory over Cal — on Saturday and the new student convocation on Sunday made for a jam-packed weekend for Dawgs.

Classes begin Wednesday, and about 7,000 students will make up one of the largest freshman classes in school history.

"It's exciting, honestly." incoming freshman Ellie Robbins said.

It also provides a fresh start for many after most of these students spent the bulk of their high school years learning remotely.

"I think it will be fun because I haven't gone out in a while," said Lily, a UW sophomore.

School staff say health and safety are always top of mind. The campus now has a new public service division.

"We're going to take a holistic approach to public safety," said Dr. Ed Taylor, UW dean of undergraduate academic affairs. "So rather than just try to keep the campus safe, we're in a community, so public safety for us is an extension of our campus."

Freshman Sydney Pruss said she has opted to walk with someone at all times, and she carries pepper spray.

Educators say they're also focused on where this class will be when they start their careers, and how to handle fast-evolving technology like artificial intelligence.

"We're gonna embrace this," Taylor said. "We're gonna use this as a space to be improvisational. We're gonna be guided by our ethics. We're gonna ask students to figure out what information is being generated by computers and what information is being generated by humans."